Article by
Barbados Today

Published on
February 8, 2017

ROSEAU –– Following calls by the opposition to resign, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has made it clear that neither he nor the government will “get out” because of any groups or individual but only through the ballot box.

He also blamed the United Workers Party (UWP) for the violence that engulfed Roseau on Tuesday night following a public meeting organized by opposition parties calling for his resignation.

The scene in Roseau on Tuesday night.

“Nobody and no group of individuals are going to get me out or my government out without going through the ballots of Dominica,” Skerrit said at the AID Bank’s 24th Annual General Meeting (AGM) Wednesday morning at the Fort Young Hotel.

Skerrit noted that his official address to the Nation on the matter will be done later today.

He mentioned that he paid visits to the various business places that were severely damaged on Wednesday morning saying that the riot was “organized clearly by the leadership of the United Workers Party and their associates”.

“It is incomprehensible where Christian people in this country, those of us who have a Bible and go to Church every morning and praise God would be condoning the actions of this United Workers Party because of our partisanship? And we call this country ours? That we love this country? That we are not prepared to stand in defense of the people who have invested their money and criminals go about the streets and destroying these people investments?” he said.

Skerrit also stated that the activities have nothing to do with him but rather “about the country and the country’s future”.

“When we send to the world the impression that this country is not a place to do business and to come to visit, how are we going to create jobs in Dominica? How are we going to sustain the economy? How are we going to expand the economy to address the poverty levels in our country?” he noted.

He said that his silence must not be taken for weakness.

“I am measured with my approach in life . . . . But let it be known that there should be no actions on the part of individuals in Dominica to overthrow this government. So if that is their intention, I am sending a message to them, they better rethink their plans,” he stated.

Skerrit said the disturbances were “planned, calculated, and it was executed”.

“If you look at Roseau and you look at the businesses that were targeted, that was not random, that was not spontaneous,” he noted.

He claimed that there are “criminals who are are saying today that they got paid for carrying out some of the actions”.